Memphis drove 79 yards on USF's defense, getting a 1-yard touchdown by 6-foot-8 receiver Carlos Singleton to pull within 24-14 of the Bulls with eight seconds left in the first half at the St. Petersburg Bowl.
USF continues to struggle with defensive penalties, with a pass interference call on third-and-12 giving Memphis the ball on the USF 3 with a minute to play. Three plays later, Arkelon Hall found his tall target in the front corner of the end zone -- the catch was initially ruled at the 1-yard line, but after review, the touchdown was called for Memphis.
USF has outgained Memphis 283-148 in the first half -- Matt Grothe is 13-for-19 for 176 yards and two scores, while rushing for 49 yards. For a few days at least, he is the BIg East's all-time leader in total offense -- he goes into the second half with 10,148 yards, ahead of West Virginia's Pat White, who has 10,142 and still plays in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
-- While we're at halftime, more on USF's basketball win in Puerto Rico. The Bulls found the shooting touch they've been missing for a while, hitting 57 percent as a team. Guard Dominique Jones, who's been woeful beyond the arc, went 5-for-7 on 3-pointers on the way to a game-high 23 points. Mike Mercer scored in double digits for the third time in his three games, finishing with 12 points. The Bulls had solid perimeter defense, as Murray State went 2-for-13 on 3-pointers in the loss. Next up is Wright State on Sunday afternoon ...
Times sportswriter Greg Auman, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin and we invite your participation in the comments area.
Isn't editing great?
Good for the BBers.
As I was sitting there in section 130, row HH, not having the advantage of the GA blog, I was wondering whether MG's excellent game wasn't going to put him ahead of White briefly. Nice for him to have the record for a while.
Posted by: Ken | December 20, 2008 at 09:45 PM
Good ole USF. There's the team I know and love. :)
Posted by: T. Bever | December 20, 2008 at 08:39 PM
Just got an official box, and USF went 19-for-30, so I just took out the free throw reference altogether.
Posted by: Greg Auman | December 20, 2008 at 07:26 PM
T's right -- but when the Bulls are hitting 57 percent on the year, 67 percent is comparably good. Don't get me wrong -- Murray State went 24-for-34, so it's kind of a wash.
Posted by: Greg Auman | December 20, 2008 at 07:18 PM
Greg - you've let the Bulls lower your expectations. 19 of 28 is just under 68% from the charity stripe. That's certainly better than their average, but 8 teams in teh league average 67 or better for the season.
Posted by: T. Bever | December 20, 2008 at 07:02 PM